Little Pills
by prdee
Summary: It was very unnerving how she always seemed to be there when he was alone with his little pills. *21 /Complete
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer :** Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.

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 **A/N :** This story isn't like my other light-humorous-happy-go-lucky stories. It's kind of on the dark side...well not that much, but the main theme of the story is kind of depressing. But if you know me, I always ( well, mostly always) end my stories on a happy(ish) note, so you can probably expect one from this story, haha. This story will have 5 chapters (I've already written the entire thing, so I know for sure, haha).

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 **Little Pills**  
 **Chapter One**

 **0**

Twenty-four. Probably twenty-seven.

Or perhaps thirty?

Yes, thirty. Thirty would do.

Natsume clutched the tiny bottle in his hands tightly as he walked down the narrow alley. It was late in the evening; the sun had already set and there was a slight drizzle going on. Not having an umbrella on him at the moment, Natsume simply lifted the hood of his sweatshirt to shield his hair from the tiny droplets of water. Spotting an elderly looking man walking towards him, he slipped the tiny bottle into his pocket. He knew the elderly man wouldn't notice the thing in his hands, hell, nobody would even _care_ —but he hadn't wanted to risk it. Natsume discreetly watched the elderly man stroll past him ; the man hadn't even glanced his way. Letting out a breathe he hadn't known he was holding, Natsume removed the bottle from his pocket.

Thirty.

He hoped thirty would do.

Natsume hadn't the faintest idea how many it would take to ease the pain forever, but he as sure as hell wasn't going to do a half-assed job about it. Unscrewing the cover of the bottle as he walked, Natsume didn't notice when a door from the building he was walking beside abruptly opened. Unfortunately, he walked right into it.

The bottle tumbled from his hands at the impact, and it burst open on the ground.

"Oops, I'm so sorry!" A girl's voice came from the other side.

Scowling at the contents of the bottle which now lay on the ground, Natsume looked up from the mess to see a girl, probably his age or younger, standing next to the door with a bag of garbage in her hand. She was wearing an apron and a t-shirt with some sort of emblem on it, indicating that she was probably a waitress.

"Thanks for nothing," Natsume muttered, sending the girl a loathing look.

The girl looked embarrassed. "I'm so sorry about that!" she looked at the mess on the floor, "Were those really important? I hope -" She looked up at his face. "Wait," a look of recognition dawned on her features. "I know you."

Natsume frowned. She knew him?

"You're Natsume Hyuuga, aren't you?" She didn't sound a hundred percent sure though.

He didn't say anything.

"Those red eyes and that look on your face, like the weight of the world lies on your shoulders. You're definitely Natsume Hyuuga." Her voice was more confident now. She was looking at him curiously.

Not liking how correctly she described him, Natsume pursed his lips. He couldn't recall ever seeing this girl before. Did she live in the same neighborhood as him? Had she been one of his sister's friends?

A flash of pain jolt through him at the thought of his sister.

 _I can't. Not now._

He decided not to directly answer her question. "And you are?"

"Mikan Sakura," she answered him. "We have Physics together."

Ah. So they went to the same school.

"I see," he said, as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"You don't recognize me," she smoothly said. It wasn't a question. It was a statement.

Natsume gave her a blank look.

The girl threw her head back and laughed. She then rolled her eyes and dumped the bag into the bin. "Of course you don't recognize me," she gave him a small smirk. "You're always too busy glaring daggers at the walls."

Natsume sent her an irritated look. Why was he standing here again?

She laughed once more. "See! You're glaring again!"

Scowling at her once more, Natsume made a move to step around her. But she blocked him. "Don't go just yet! Come inside. Let me get you a coffee or something. It's the least I can do after making you spill that," she looked over at the ground.

Natsume pursed his lips. Coffee did sound a bit appealing at the moment.

She noticed his silence and chuckled. "Come on, it's on the house!"

"Fine," he crisply said. "I'd like a black coffee without sugar."

Nodding, she pushed the door open and indicated for him to come inside.

"I'll be back in two minutes!" She informed him, with a small smile on her face. "Don't go anywhere!"

Rolling his eyes at the girl's eagerness of giving him a coffee, Natsume watched as she nearly bounced down the corridor and opened another door. Presumably the kitchen or something. Sighing, Natsume leaned against the wall. The evening hadn't turned out the way he had planned and he didn't have any money left on him anymore so he couldn't even buy another bottle. Natsume scowled. If that girl hadn't so rudely opened the door like that, he'd already be on his way out of his misery.

 _Stupid girl._

He heard the kitchen door open, revealing the girl again. She was holding a styrofoam mug in her hand.

"Here you go!" she chirped as she handed him the coffee. "One black coffee, without sugar! Just like you asked." She gave him a ridiculously big smile.

Natsume took the coffee from her. It was hot and smelled wonderful. "Um, thanks I guess," he muttered, slightly annoyed by her smile. Why the heck was she smiling so much?

"No problem! It was my fault anyways," she told him, the smile still in place. "See you at school tomorrow, Natsume!"

Giving the girl one last nod, Natsume turned on his heels and headed out of the door.

He had meant to end his night in the company of his pills but instead, he now had a warm cup of coffee with him.

How irritating.

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* * *

 **Carolle Royale**

 _September 11th, 2015_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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 **A/N :** Thanks so much for all the reviews/alerts/favorites! I honestly wasn't expecting much response for this story because I reckoned most people wouldn't want to read a story with this plot, haha.

Like the summary suggests, this story pretty much just revolves around Mikan and Natsume's interactions. I won't be going into details why Natsume feels this way, or any of that other stuff, because that just gets too depressing, and I don't think I can actually write like that, lol. As you have already read, the last chapter did contain slight humor...I'm such a fail at writing angst, ahh. I try though, hahahah.

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 **Little Pills**  
 **Chapter Two**

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Twenty-two.

Twenty-two would do.

Natsume stared at the little container he held in his hand. He was currently sitting at an empty lunch table, outside the cafeteria and away from the rest of the students. He liked the peace and quiet that was entitled with outside. He knew nobody liked to sit outside at this table, especially since it was quite a walk from the cafeteria. Most students wouldn't bother carrying their lunch tray all the way outside, and for that Natsume was thankful. He liked to spend his lunch alone.

He heard footsteps nearing him. They stopped and then he felt another person's presence. He looked up. It was that girl, what was her name, again? Mikan Sakura or something, from that day almost two weeks ago.

"Hi, Natsume!" she smiled, as she slid into the seat in front of him.

Natsume pursed his lips. He hadn't invited her to sit with him.

"Loquacious as ever, aren't you?" she asked teasingly.

"Is there a reason why you decided to grace me with your presence? Or do you just like to annoy people for simply no reason?" He snapped.

The grin withered from her face. "I was just going to ask if I could borrow your Physics notes from today," she informed, her voice defensive.

Oh.

He hadn't been expecting that.

"Why?" he asked, "Weren't you in class?"

She bit her lips. "I was actually, but I wasn't paying attention."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I was doing Math homework during Physics today," she admitted, a bit sheepishly.

"Why do you want my notes?" He asked. He knew that she had plenty of friends in that class. She was always surrounded by them. Or well, he just assumed that she had a lot of friends. Almost everybody did. Except for him. Never him.

"Well, you've got the highest grade in Physics. I just thought your notes would be the best," she told him, still biting her lips.

Natsume let out a soft sigh. He knew he did have the highest grade in Physics so far, but he was tempted not to decline her request. But there was something…something in those hazel orbs of hers that made him decide better.

"Fine," he reluctantly said, quite not believing that he was actually giving in. He never let anyone borrow his notes. Ever. She'd be the first. "I want it back by tomorrow morning though."

Her eyes widened, she obviously hadn't been expecting that he'd actually lend her his notes. She cracked a huge grin. "Thank you so much, Natsume! I promise I'll give it back to you by tomorrow!"

Letting out a soft sigh, Natsume placed the container he was holding onto the table and then unzipped his bag which was sitting next to him on the bench. He took out his blue Physics notebook and handed it to the girl sitting in front of him.

"You better not damage it, Sakura," he grunted, still not believing that he was actually letting someone borrow his notes.

She nodded her head rigorously. "Of course not!" she said, with a determined look on her face. Her eyes then fell onto the container which was placed on the table. "Are those pain-killers?"

And before Natsume could even react, she had swiftly leaned over the table, and took the bottle. She eyed it curiously. "These _are_ pain-killers," she murmured. She looked up at him. "Can I borrow these? My friend has major cramps right now and she was looking for pain-killers. I'll give it back to you at the end of the day!"

Just then, the rather loud school bell rang, indicating that the lunch period was over.

She quickly scrambled out of her seat, carrying the pills and his notebook with her. "Thanks so much for these, Natsume! I'll give you this," she raised the container, "at the end of the day!" And with that, she quickly started walking back towards the school building.

He stared at her in slight shock. He hadn't even given her permission to take those pills, and yet she had anyways! The nerve of the girl. Hadn't her parents taught her any manners?

Feeling extremely annoyed, Natsume got up from the table, threw his bag over his shoulder and then kicked a can of sprite which had been lying nearby on the grass.

This was the second time she had interfered with his plans.

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 **Carolle Royale**

 _September 12th, 2015_


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer : Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.**

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 **A/N :** Thank you all so much for reading! :) This story will have just two more chapters. I'll be posting them by next weekend. :)

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 **Little Pills**  
 **Chapter Three**

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Sixteen.

He'd settle with sixteen. It'd be kind of poetic, seeing how that was his current age and all. Walking down the main streets with his hand shoved down his pockets, Natsume stopped in front of a window. It was of a small café. He peered inside the window and took in the rather cozy ambience. There were a couple of red sofas scattered around the café, with little coffee tables in front of them. Other than the sofas, he could see regular tables sprawled across the café. The aroma of the freshly baked bread made his senses tingle. For some unfathomable reason, Natsume found himself pushing the brick red door of the café open.

He was greeted by a girl, probably in college or so. "Hi! Welcome to Heart Cup Café!" she smiled at him.

Natsume nodded back, and headed inside the café. There was a decent number of people here, but it wasn't too crowded or anything. Walking over to a small table situated at the back, Natsume pulled the chair out and sat down. He took in a deep breathe, inhaling the sweet smell of bread and coffee.

"Hi, I'm Mikan and I—oh, hi Natsume!"

Natsume looked up to see that annoying girl from his Physics class standing next to him, wearing an apron and holding a notepad in her hand. He silently cursed. He hadn't known the name of the café where she worked, but he now remembered its location. Out of all the places, why had he chosen to come here?

Natsume frowned. He couldn't just leave now, especially when his stomach yearned for some food.

"Fancy seeing you here," she drawled, a small smirk appearing on her lips. She handed him the menu. "Here, this is the menu! I'll be back in a few minutes to take your order, so hurry up and choose something!" Giving him one last grin, she turned on her heels and headed to another table where a couple were sitting.

Flipping the menu open, he scanned the items on the list. He settled for an espresso and a raspberry scone. Right on cue, the girl was next to him, with her notepad in her hand.

"Have you decided what you want?" she asked, tapping the pen lightly on her notepad.

"Yeah, I'll have an espresso and a raspberry scone."

She nodded. "Anything else?" she asked, while she scribbled down his order.

He shook his head.

"Okay, your order is coming up! It'll take five minutes," she told him and then once again, she turned her back towards him and headed out to the front of the café, presumably towards the kitchen.

Natsume took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. He still had an hour or two before the shop closed. She hadn't returned the painkillers from the other day, so he'd have to buy a new bottle. He leaned back against the chair. It was going to be tonight. He just knew it.

As promised, his food arrived in five minutes. The girl smiled at him once more and informed him to call her if she needed anything. Merely nodding at her, Natsume took a sip of his coffee. It was good. Just how he liked it. Before he even knew it, he had already finished his coffee and his scone. His stomach still wasn't satisfied though. He looked up from his table and glanced around the café. His eyes immediately fell onto hers. She gave him a knowing look and headed back to his table.

"Would you like anything else?" she asked, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Natsume didn't like the smug look which was etched on her face but he refrained from saying something rude to her. He had to fulfill his stomach's needs first, after all. "Another scone," he told her.

"Raspberry?"

He nodded.

"Alright, I'll get your raspberry scone in a minute!"

Natsume placed both of his elbows onto the table and watched as she headed back to the kitchens once again. A minute or two later, she emerged with a plate in her hand. He noticed that she wasn't wearing the apron anymore, and she also had a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Here's your scone!" she placed the plate on the table and then slid into the seat in front of him.

He raised an eyebrow. Was she allowed to sit with customers while she was working?

She seemed to understand that look and gave a small chuckle. "I'm done with my shift, if that's what you're wondering," she told him.

"Oh."

"You don't talk much, do you?" she asked, her eyes were thoughtful.

He shrugged as he bit into his scone.

"Anyways," she continued, not caring that he didn't answer, "I was wondering if you…" she trailed off, not finishing.

Natsume looked up from his scone and gave her a wondering look. "If I can?"

She seemed to hesitate. "Are you busy right now?" she asked, instead.

"Well, I'm in the middle of eating a scone."

She rolled her eyes. "I can see that," she replied dryly. "I mean, do you have some time to spare? I was wondering if you could look over my attempt of those homework problems we were assigned yesterday. I'm kind of stuck on three of them and I'm pretty sure you've already got them figured out."

Natsume finished chewing the last bit of the scone before he replied. "And why would I do that?"

"To help a poor soul?" she asked. "I'm not that great with Physics, so I'd be super grateful if you could look over those for me."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "What's in it for me?" he asked.

"The last scone you ate is on me," she told him.

The scone for his precious time? Natsume knew that it wasn't really much of a deal, but he found himself agreeing. It wouldn't take him long to explain her three questions anyways.

But he was wrong.

It took him around two hours to explain those three questions to her, since he had to go back and explain each and every concept of the chapter. (Not great? She was terrible at Physics)

The shop was already closed by the time Natsume left Heart Cup Café.

It was not going to happen tonight.

 **0**

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 **Carolle Royale**

 _September 13th, 2015_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer : I do not own Gakuen Alice.**

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 **A/N :** I wish I were this fast at updating my other stories...lol. Here's the fourth chapter :) Just one more chapter and this little story will be done! Thanks so much for reading! :)

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 **Little Pills**  
 **Chapter Four**

 **0**

Nine.

Nine was enough.

Natsume poured a four pills onto his hand and took the water bottle from his bag and placed it in between his legs. He was currently sitting on a park bench in an isolated corner of the park. It was late in the evening, with no traces of annoying little kids playing in the playground. A few people were walking along the running trail, but other than that, the park was mostly empty. He stared at the pills in his hand. This was it. He was actually going to do it.

"Hey, Natsume!"

Those two words and the voice whom it belonged to, immediately caused him to groan. Fuck. Please let it not be who he thought it was.

But of course, it was _exactly_ who he thought it was.

Fate was really, _really_ twisted.

"Sakura," he muttered rather distastefully, hoping that she'd get the signal and just leave him the hell alone. Either she didn't seem to notice the tone of his voice, or she simply did not care for she casually walked over to him. She was in jogging gear, indicating that she had been on a jog. He could see sweat glistening on her face.

"What's up?" she asked, now standing right next to the bench. "You haven't been to the café lately."

Natsume snorted. "I've only been there once."

She clicked her tongue. "Actually, you've been there twice!" she reminded him.

He rolled his eyes.

"What! You have been there twice!" She told him, "Anyways, why are you sitting here at the park so late?"

"It's seven in the evening, Sakura," he told her, his voice crisp. "It's hardly late."

She seemed to ponder about that for a second. "Well, yeah you're right," she said and then her eyes fell onto the pills that he held in his hand. "Oh, do you have a headache or something?" For some strange reason, she almost sounded...concerned for him.

 _Odd._

Natsume decided to remain silent. Maybe if he didn't say anything she would get the message and leave him alone...

She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing as she took a good look at the pills. "Wait, why do you have so many? You're only supposed to take one or two of those!"

Hating how his silent treatment had failed him, Natsume sent the nosy girl a glare. Why wouldn't this girl just go away already?

"Seriously, just give me those," she reached out for the bottle of pills he held in his right palm.

"No," he quickly pulled away from her, his eyes flashing rather dangerously. Just who did this girl think she was? She couldn't just pop out of nowhere and demand things from him.

Her frown deepened. "What's the matter with you? Just give those to me!" This time, she was successful in yanking the bottle away from him. Despite her small stature, she was actually quite strong. However, once she had gotten a hand on the bottle, her foot accidentally got caught on something in the grass and she lost balance.

And the bottle fell. Onto the ground. Where its contents lay scattered all around.

Natsume cussed. He only had four in his hands. It was nearly not enough.

"What the hell is your problem?" he hissed at the girl. He couldn't believe that this was happening again.

Unlike the first time this had happened, she didn't look embarrassed. Instead she merely shrugged. "Sorry," she said, but she didn't seem sorry at all. "If you have a headache or something, the pills you have in your hand will do."

He clenched his fists. This was the fucking limit.

"Are you always this annoying? Or am I some special case?" he seethed out.

The girl had the audacity to grin. "Oh, you're just a special case," she said airily.

Sending her one last furious glare, Natsume abruptly got up from his seat and slung his bag over his shoulder. Without his normal nod at her or anything, he turned his back to the girl and walked away, not wanting to be in her presence any longer.

He could hear her calling out to him, but he ignored her. She was a nuisance. If it weren't for her, he would have already gotten what he wanted.

Not seeing the use for those four pills any longer, he let them slip from his hand and onto the ground below.

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 **Carolle Royale**

 _September 14th, 2015_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer : Gakuen Alice does not belong to me.**

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 **A/N :** And here's the 5th and final chapter of this story! :)

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 **Little Pills**  
 **Chapter Five**

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"When you feel like giving up, just remember the reason why you held on for so long." – Unknown

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Five? Three?

Two?

He wasn't sure anymore.

He pulled his bag higher up on his shoulders as he made his way through the swarm of students in the hallway. It was Friday and classes had just finished for the day, indicating the start of the weekend. He watched as a group of his classmates walked past him; most of them seemed excited for their plans for the weekend. Natsume didn't care for the weekend, it was just another day.

He swiftly walked past all the other students. Most of them stood in big groups in the hallway, too busy chatting with their friends and thus blocking the hallway. Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, Natsume made his way between the annoying people and walked out of the entrance of the school. Normally, he'd take the bus on his way back home, but today Natsume felt like walking. Strolling out of the school gates, Natsume briefly wondered if he should just do it right now. He had the pills with him and even a water bottle full to the brim. Plus, it didn't look like he would be disturbed this time. However, for some unfathomable reason, Natsume didn't flip open his bag and take out the pills. Instead, he merely continued walking.

Just when he was about to turn around the corner, he heard it. Someone was yelling his name.

Curious, he glanced around his shoulder and was quite surprised when he saw _her_ running towards him. He hadn't spoken to her for about a week or two now, and he was actually thinking that she had (finally) decided to leave him alone. But apparently, that was not the case. In a few seconds, she was just behind him. He noticed that she didn't seem to be out of breath or anything; jogging definitely helped her.

"I've been calling your name since you walked through the front doors," she told him, as she skid to a stop. "You're pretty much deaf," her voice was laced with humor.

He furrowed his eyebrows. Odd. He hadn't heard her yelling at all. "What do you want, Sakura?" he couldn't help the slightly suspicious edge that his voice held.

She noticed this and rolled her eyes. "You know, I don't always ask you for favors, alright?"

He merely stared at her. She had to be kidding.

She held up a hand, as if surrendering. "Okay, maybe I do. But that's why I'm here!"

He resisted the urge to groan. Was she going to ask him another favor, again?

"What is it?" He pulled the straps on his bag closer up to his shoulder and chewed on his lips unconsciously.

She rolled back on her heels and he could see a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "Well, I haven't really thanked you for that day in the café. You helped me quite a lot," her voice was a bit low, almost as if she were breathless. It was strange because she hadn't been breathless when she had ran to him.

Natsume looked at her curiously. He had no idea where this was going.

"Anyways, there's this carnival in town tomorrow and I've got two tickets…so I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

He blinked. This was not what he was expecting.

She took his silence as refusal. "Oh, um, it's fine Natsume. You're probably busy," she muttered, her cheeks tinging with red now. "I don't even know what I was thinking—"

"I'll go with you."

Her hazel eyes widened. "What?"

Natsume bit his lips. He hadn't meant to say that out loud, but the words had already tumbled out from his mouth. He didn't have the heart to retake his words back. He squared his shoulders. "I said, I'll go with you," he slowly repeated.

She seemed a bit shocked, but soon recovered. A huge grin broke out on her face. "That's terrific!" She moved forward and gave him a quick hug.

Natsume looked down at her, very surprised at the contact. He could smell her shampoo; scent of tangerines and roses. But as quickly as she had hugged him, she had let go.

He oddly missed the lack of contact for some reason. He decided not to dwell too much on that fact.

"Okay, so meet me tomorrow at around 2 at Heart Cup Café?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Natsume couldn't fathom why she was excited about going to a carnival with him. This girl could have gone with probably any other boy in their grade, but she asked him to go with her. Although he was still slightly confused with her invitation, he shrugged, feigning utmost ease and nonchalance. "Sure," his voice sounded rather indifferent, but that didn't seem to deter her.

"Great!" she exclaimed, the grin still on her face. "I'll see you tomorrow then!" And with another huge smile directed right at him, she turned on her heels, and started walking the opposite direction.

Natsume stared after her.

She really was a strange girl, that one.

Shaking his head at the sudden change of events, Natsume took out the bottle of pills from his backpack and dumped it into a trashcan that was a few feet away from him.

He wouldn't be needing them anymore.

He had a reason to look forward for tomorrow, after all.

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 **Fin**

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This was just a little story I wrote in the spur of the moment. It's short, but I hope you were able to get the message? :)

Anyways, thank you to all those who have read this story; it means a lot to me! :)

 **Carolle Royale**

 _Completed : September 18th, 2015_


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